Last night the Superliga debuted with two games. First there was a 1-1 tie between FC Dallas and Chivas Guadalajara followed by 2-1 victory by the LA Galaxy over CF Pachuca. But before I give my reactions to Superliga I want to address a growing problem in the MLS: Refereeing.
During the FC Dallas / Chivas Guadalajara game, Chivas player Antonio Olvera, clearly knocked the ball down with his hand and then put in the back of the net to tie the game. Unfortunately for Dallas the obvious hand ball was not called and the goal stood robbing Dallas of a victory. Of course the bad officiating didn't stop there. Minutes later Drew Moor was elbowed by Hector Reynoso, and when no call came, Moor took things into his own hands and struck back at Reynoso. Next things exploded. Players from both teams ran towards the two and started to push and shout at each other. While the near brawl answered any questions about whether teams were taking the tournament seriously, it showed what happens when refs are unable to correctly call the game - the beautiful game turns ugly.
This of course wasn't the first time this has happened. In fact it was only last Sunday during a game between the Kansas City Wizards and the Colorado Rapids that terrible reffing caused the game to turn violent and allowed the Colorado Rapids to steal a tie from what should have been a decisive Wizards victory. If you think about what any game is in its bare bones form it is essentially a list of rules. When the officials fail to properly enforce these rules and protect the safety of the players, the game breaks down and players take things into their own hands in order to ensure victory as well as safety. It is critical that referees correctly call the game, and while it is unrealistic to expect them to make every call right, it shouldn't be unrealistic to expect that a player who elbows another players throat be sent off or that a goal created by a hand ball be waived off. As I said before, failure to do so sends the message to the players that dirty play and cheating are allowed. The result is we all lose.
As for the Superliga itself, it was surprisingly good except for the no call on a hand ball and the ensuing brawling shortly afterwards during the Dallas / Guadalajara game. The tournament got started with FC Dallas taking on Chivas of Guadalajara. Both teams played extremely hard and you could tell that the Superliga wasn't going to be a friendly exhibition type tournament. Whats even better was that the MLS side, FC Dallas, wasn't dominated by the Mexican superclub; in fact I thought Dallas was the better team overall. Juan Toja paired up with Brazilian newcomer Ricardinho led the Dallas attack. However, it was Arturo Alvarez scoring off a ball from Carlos Ruiz that gave Dallas their first and only goal. As was mentioned before, Chivas socred 10 minutes later when Antonio Olvera brought the ball down with his hand and then blasted into the net. Final result 1-1.
I'd watch Ricardinho closely. He could turn into a mid season sensation for FC Dallas.
Next up was what should have a sleeper of a game when the struggling LA Galaxy (who were without their most famous player) took on reigning Mexican champions and tournament favorites Pachuca. The game started off as most expected it to; with Pachuca completely dominating the Galaxy in their own end. Slowly through the first half the Galaxy began playing better and were able to generate a few chances only to have Pachuca come back stronger and push the MLS side back on defense to close the first half. 5 minutes into the first half something incredible happened. Landon Donovan played a great cross to Alan Gordon who then put the Galaxy up 1-0. The Galaxy would keep the lead for almost 30 minutes until Pachuca player Rafael Marquez Lugo was able to sneak the ball the just past Joe Cannon to tie the game. No doubt Cannon would like to have that one back. Fortunately for him the stars aligned for the Galaxy when Landon Donovan slipped the ball inside the box to Cobi Jones, who after some serious maneuvering, shot the ball back towards Landon Donovan to deflect it into the net. Final score 2-1 Galaxy.
To be fair it was clear that Pachuca was the better team, but as it would happen Galaxy Goalkeeper Joe Cannon was the best player, making 6 of 7 saves to keep his team in the game. Abel Xavier also had a great game on the defensive side for the Galaxy. Props go out to Landon Donovan, who rebounded from his terrible performance against Chelsea, Kyle Martino, Cobi Jones, and Alan Gordon. The bag of the game has to go to Carlos Pavon who missed two key chances for the Galaxy; the first a missed header on an open net and then on a spectacular breakaway which saw Pavon kick the ball about 4 yards wide of the net.
While Becks couldn't stop his team from losing, he did show a lot of promise. Especially in terms of energizing the LA attack; who were forced to play most of the 2nd half down a man. The Galaxy's best chance came when Beckham laid a ball into the box for Landon Donovan who was taken down with a questionable tackle that Donovan felt deserved a penalty kick; sadly for Landon it was not to come (see what happens when you dive too much.....).
